Frequently Asked Questions

The Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act came into effect in order to enhance accountability and transparency to taxpayers in the province. Extending the compensation disclosure to public sector employees who earn above a threshold builds on an already existing policy disclosing compensation for Members of the Legislative Assembly, deputy ministers and senior executives in Government. 

Implementing compensation and severance disclosure requirements aligns Alberta with similar practices in other Canadian jurisdictions, such as British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

The Act applies to all public sector bodies, including agencies, boards, commissions and post-secondary institutions in the province.

All public sector bodies, including NAIT, are required to disclose the compensation and severance paid to eligible employees and board members twice per year:

• June 30 - compensation from January 1 to December 31 of the previous calendar year, and
• December 31 - severance from January 1 to June 30 of the current calendar year.

The Act requires us to include 

• employees whose earnings and/or severance payments exceed specified thresholds 
• board members, regardless of their compensation 

The threshold amount for income earned in the 2019 calendar year was $132,924, and $135,317 for 2020. If an employee’s compensation, non-monetary benefits and, where applicable, severance exceeds this threshold amount, that person will be included on the disclosure list. 
 
The Act also requires all public sector bodies to include all board members, regardless of compensation, in the disclosure. Further, the employment contract of the president and CEO is required to be published.

The disclosure includes 

• Employee name; 
• Position or appointment last held during the reporting year; 
• Compensation year; 
• Amount of compensation provided to the employee or member during the reporting year (generally Box 14 on the T4 issued for that reporting year); 
• Amount or value of all non-monetary benefits provided to or in respect of the employee or member. This includes 
  • Employer’s portion of Local Authority Pension Plan (LAPP) contribution 
  • Employer’s portion of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) 
  • Employer’s portion of other benefits such as health and dental premiums. 
  • WCB coverage 
• The amount of severance that has been paid or that the employee or member became entitled to. Severance can also include a retiring allowance, as defined by Canada Revenue Agency 

Please note that if a NAIT employee holds multiple positions, the compensation for all positions will be combined, and all positions will be listed. Disclosed information must remain public for 5 years.

Post-secondary institutions are not required to disclose written employment and severance contracts, except for the employment contract of our president and CEO when they are included on the disclosure list.

The disclosure will appear on NAIT’s public website and a link will also be accessible through the Government of Alberta compensation disclosure site. 

There are several factors that can impact an individual’s compensation. Generally, the following factors may impact compensation amounts:  

• additional NAIT work performed by employees (e.g. staff may take on additional contract instruction)  
• recruiting into certain high demand, competitive professions means we rely on external market pay information and analysis 
• pay-at-risk amounts paid to eligible employees can vary based on performance 
• Note: Pay-at-risk was eliminated by April 2020, in accordance with the post-secondary compensation regulations.  
• pension maximums have been reached for some staff based on years of service or age 
• different severance provisions  
• different benefit options selected (e.g. family plan vs. individual plan) 
• how long a staff member has been employed at NAIT

Yes. The Public Service Compensation Disclosure Policy is accompanied by a Treasury Board Directive. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) allows the disclosure of any personal information for the purpose of complying with a Treasury Board Directive.